By night, Billy Bratcher slaps the upright bass with the Vermont-based honky-tonk/rockabilly band the Starline Rhythm Boys. During the day, and probably some nights, Bratcher is the food-and-beverage supervisor at the Sheraton Hotel in Burlington, Vt.

The chief songwriter for the Starline Rhythm Boys, Bratcher also is an accomplished guitarist and singer enamored of the songs and sounds of the '20s and '30s, syncopated rhythms, chord changes that move with a purpose and lyrics that range from ribald to religious. It's the kind of music that might have been played in hotel-lobby bars in the '30s.

Bratcher and his collaborators, playing everything from cello to clarinet, bones to bari sax, take on some classics, some classy numbers and some lowdown selections - jazz, blues and country.

The playing is sublime, the vocals are convincing, and the repertoire is a wonderful antidote to musical homogenization. Listening to "In The Lobby" will make you want to hang out in the coolest old hotel lobby in town and hope music like Bratcher's breaks out.